The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind's place and purpose within it."

[1] The prize was originally awarded to people working in the field of religion (Mother Teresa was the first winner), but in the 1980s the scope broadened to include people working at the intersection of science and religion.

[3][4] Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists and Muslims have been on the panel of judges and have been recipients of the prize.

[7] It was typically presented by Prince Philip, during his lifetime, in ceremonies held at Buckingham Palace.

[11] Atheist scientists Richard Dawkins,[12] Harry Kroto[13] and Jerry Coyne have criticized the prize as "blurring [religion's] well-demarcated border with science" and being awarded "to scientists who are either religious themselves or say nice things about religion",[14] a criticism rejected by 2011 laureate Martin Rees, who pointed to his own and other laureates' atheism and that their research in fields such as psychology, evolutionary biology, and economy can hardly be classified as the "promotion of religion".